Prolific Auckland peddler Mat Kinsman celebrated his 10th New Zealand Sprint title win and his second in the tough KZ2 category at the 2022 Gazley KartSport NZ National Sprint Championships in Wellington.

Organisers split the competition into two parts, to enable karters to compete within the confines of the pandemic rules, with the second stage proving challenging for drivers and organisers alike with inclement weather keeping teams guessing at the Gazley KartSport Wellington facility in Upper Hutt.

Kinsman, 30, managed the demanding conditions best to claim two heat wins, second in the pre-final and the win in the final, holding out rival and four-time national champion Daniel Bray.

He won the first heat comfortably in his Sodi kart, but needed some good fortune to claim the second, which proved pivotal. The race was red-flagged early after a kart exited the circuit and made contact with a crash bag, with Bray leading at that stage. Mid-race during the re-run, officials waved a mechanical flag and No 62 board. This was Bray’s usual race number but in fact was run at the meeting by Nathan Crang, who races for Bray’s N-Zed Motorsport kart team.

Bray pulled into pit lane believing the flag was for him, followed in by Crang and quickly realised the unfixable error, however the race was run.

In the Final, the hard charging Joshua Parkinson claimed the lead off the line, however an early mistake allowed both Kinsman and Bray through. From there Kinsman managed to hold off the attentions of his fellow Auckland karter in Bray, while Parkinson held on for third as he continues his enterprising young career.

Super talented teenager Jackson Rooney from KartSport Manawatu was in a class of his own in Rotax Max Light, with a clean sweep of all heats, pre-final and final.

The challenge, especially in the pre-final and final, was up against Waikato teenager Clay Osborne, who has three national titles in his resume including the Vortex ROK DVS Senior honours in the first part of the championships two months ago.

His chances were dealt a blow in the opening heat when he tossed the coin to race on slicks which proved a disaster under worsening skies and he needed all his skills to remain on terra firma, before eventually being forced to pit by officials before being lapped by the leaders.

The minors proved a tight battle involving local hope Tyler Edney, Hawkes Bay tyro Tom Bewley, who won the ROK DVS Junior national honours in the earlier championships, multi-Australian champion Brad Jenner and Palmerston North’s Jacob Cranston, who pushed on to the podium behind Osborne from fifth on the grid in the final.

It looked like a copy-cat dominance in the Rotax Max Heavy for Auckland legend Ryan Urban, an 11-time national champion and multi-winner in Superkarts.

Urban appeared to be first in a field of one as he powered away with both heats and pre-final. Dropping to second early in the final, Urban would set about chasing leader Bradley Tyrrell before unfortunately being forced out of the race with a broken chain.

Defending champion and KartSport Hamilton’s Campbell Joyes was runner-up to Urban in the heats and pre-final ahead of his neighbour from KartSport Tokoroa, Bradley Tyrrell. But Tyrrell had other ideas in the final, jumping from third to the lead on the second lap and eventually scooting away from the pack. The end of the race ended in excitement with Joyes reeling in Tyrell and shadowing him for the final lap. Tyrell skilfully employed every defensive technique in the book to hold out for the win. It was a remarkable achievement having recently returned to the sport after a 12-year hiatus. The cherry on top was Brad’s son, Roman Harker-Ferguson, rounding out the podium.

Wrapping up the results, with a top-four lockout in Rotax Heavy alone, the IPK team took out the hotly contested Manufacturers Cup, with Josh Hart Racing collecting the award for the brand at prizegiving.

Hats off to the dedicated KartSport Wellington crew who took on the Nationals and managed to brave the conditions throughout a long weekend.

Results: https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/2040511

Caption: The championship winners – Mat Kinsman – KZ2 (No 30 – black and orange gloves); Jackson Rooney – Rotax Max Light (No 30 – black and white gloves) and Bradley Tyrrell – Rotax Max Heavy (No 17).  (Credit: Vicky Jack Photography)

Article added: Tuesday 30 August 2022